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NYC official: Thieves got into 1K StubHub accounts

By WTOP Staff

NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the hottest tickets in town — to Broadway hits, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake concerts, a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game — were snapped up by an international ring of cyber thieves who commandeered more than 1,000 StubHub users’ accounts to make big money by fraudulently buying tickets and reselling them, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Ten people around the world have been indicted or arrested in connection with the case, which involved more than 3,500 tickets and at least $1.6 million in unauthorized purchases of sought-after seats, some to sold-out shows or behind the Yankee Stadium dugout, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said.

“Today’s arrests and indictment connect a global network of hackers, identity thieves and money-launderers” who targeted the leading digital marketplace for reselling event tickets, Vance said. The scheme spooled from Russia to London to Toronto to the New York area and even to Barcelona, Spain, where accused Russian ringleader Vadim Polyakov was arrested while vacationing earlier this month.

The case comes amid growing concern about data thieves targeting consumer giants, and it pointed up pitfalls customers may face in using one password in multiple parts of their online lives.

StubHub said it was alerted to “a small number of accounts that had been illegally taken over by fraudsters” last year, contacted authorities and gave the affected customers refunds.

While prosecutors said they weren’t certain how the alleged thieves got access, San Francisco-based StubHub said they got account-holders’ login and password information from key-loggers or other malware on the customers’ computers or from data breaches at other businesses. San Francisco-based StubHub, owned by eBay Inc., said there had been “no intrusions into StubHub technical or financial systems.”

In the last few years, such major companies as Target, LinkedIn, eBay and Neiman Marcus have been hacked. Since many customers use the same email and password on multiple websites, thieves can net a combination from one site that works in many others, data security experts say.

It’s like re-using “the same key for every lock in your life — especially if you’re giving that key out to everyone you meet,” says Joe Siegrist, the CEO of LastPass, which makes password-management software.

In the StubHub case, once the suspects had those digital keys, they were able to use the credit-card and other information stored in unsuspecting users’ accounts to buy tickets — some as pricey as a $994 pair of field-level seats to a St. Louis Rams-Houston Texans game, prosecutors said.

Buyers can download tickets directly to their StubHub accounts. Account-holders do get emails confirming their purchase; in some cases, those emails prompted customers to contact StubHub and report fraudulent buys, company spokesman Glenn Lehrman said.

After the buys, members of the ring re-sold the tickets and routed the money to others who laundered it, and the group split the profits, Vance said.

“This guy (Polyakov) is pretty much admitting he is a hacker,” one of the alleged fences, Daniel Petryszyn, wrote in an online chat, according to prosecutors. “These tickets are all profits … I will launder all the money they want.”

Petryszyn, 28, and another accused re-seller, Bryan Caputo, 29, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to money laundering and stolen property possession charges. Petryszyn, who works at a catering business, “has every intention of challenging these charges,” said his lawyer, Liam Malanaphy.

Caputo, who works at a restaurant company, simply re-sold some tickets, said his lawyer, Reginald Sharpe. “If they were stolen, he didn’t know that they were,” Sharpe said.

Polyakov, 30, was awaiting extradition, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. Three other men indicted in the Manhattan case hadn’t yet been arrested; two are in Russia. Meanwhile, authorities have arrested three suspected money-launderers in London and one in Toronto on local charges there.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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